Day by Day
by yumearashi
Summary: It has been ten years since Chihiro left the Spirit World, and she has been waiting every single day, hoping to be able to meet Haku and the gang once again. Ten years had shaken her confidence, and a dream of the worst dashed her hopes, causing her to leave a letter for Haku by her old house and leave, yet even now, she could not forget about him. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

_[28/3/2013] Rewrote the entire chapter, with parts randomly copied and pasted. _

**Heartfelt Thoughts, Broken Promises**

They had made a promise that day, ten years ago, to meet once again. Ogino Chihiro believed his words then, and although she would like to say that her thoughts were still the same now, it was impossible.

_It was a mistake right from the very beginning. That promise should never have been made._

It was just a coincidence that the tunnel led to that world. It was just luck that she and her parents made it through to the other side in one piece. It was all just a huge, big coincidence that she met everyone there.

Nothing but coincidence, and yet coincidence could not bring her back to that place where she had longed for ever since that one day, ten years ago, and it seemed as though nothing could.

Even if she knew that she should simply choose to forget, things were easier said than done. She could not help but remember the incidents from the little details that passed by her. She could not help but be reminded of _him_ whenever dragons were mentioned. She could not stop those dreams of her that brought her back to her childhood; brought her back to Haku.

Ten years, and yet those memories did not fade like others did. They stayed vivid like they had always been, just like the colours on that hair tie that she was given, so bright that everything else paled in comparison. Her life in the human world, for example, was an example of the many things that seemed all too dull for her liking ever since that incident.

She was no longer happy with a normal, everyday life that she had before she moved. Before she met them. Before she met Haku.

It was not as though she did not try to go back to that dreamlike place throughout these ten years. Rather, she never stopped trying. Yet every time she walked through that dark, eerie old tunnel, although there was no physical barrier that stopped her from moving forward, for some reason, she always found herself walking out the same way that she had entered, as though there was really nothing at the other end. She knew that the place where she truly belonged was beyond, into that faint light shining at the end of the darkness that engulfed the tunnel, but she could not reach it no matter how much she tried. It seemed so close, yet so far.

_Did he forget?_

That one thought crossed her mind all too many times. She was, after all, just another human girl. With Haku's immortality, she would just be another fleeting spark in his life and would eventually be forgotten, even their promise to meet again.

Ten years had already passed. Time did not stop to wait for anyone, and it certainly would not stop for one mere human girl like her. She would have just about 60 years more, perhaps more, perhaps less. Unlike Haku, she did not have all the time in the world to wait.

It was a selfish choice, and a hard one, but she hardened her heart with reassurance that he would probably have forgotten her, and even if he remembered, he did not love her like she loved him. She had to let go. She _had_ to.

At the age of twenty, your average college student Ogino Chihiro decided to forget it all. All that happened ten years ago, as well as her first love that had lasted for ten years.

* * *

"Chihiro!" A faint smile crossed the brunette's face as a golden haired girl with doll-like features jumped on her cheerily, as was her greeting for the entire period of time that the two had known each other, the former being your average Japanese scholarship student, Ogino Chihiro, and the latter being her best friend, and the school beauty, Anna Simond."Hey Anna!" Chihiro grinned as she tenderly ruffled the blonde's hair, to which Anna reacted by slapping that hand away, pouting as it messed up her carefully sculpted hairdo again. A loud clearing of the throat could be heard as a gangly female stared at the two awkwardly, rolling her eyes to make it clear that she was none too pleased with this sort of display right in the morning, which only served to be an amusement for Chihiro. Staring at Anna, who was still fussing over her hair, Tia Freeman smirked and messed up the blonde's hair further, earning a loud shriek and kick from the petite female, who rushed off ahead in a huff. This, however, was nothing more but a common, everyday scene in the life of these three, the weirdest clique in the entire school, made up of a hardworking intellectual, a beautiful but completely clueless girl and a tough delinquent-like girl. None would have ever thought that they would even get along in the slightest, but there was something that linked them together, giving them an unbreakable bond, a something that neither of them knew, nor cared about.

Perhaps it was the existence of a secret. A secret that none of them dared to reveal to anyone.

That was probably what kept them together, where each respected the other's personal space and never crossed that one invisible boundary line that the other had around them.

It sort of reminded the young Japanese of that elegant and gentle white dragon that she once knew and loved – probably still do – who would understand her needs without her even saying anything.

Chihiro shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind, which was being invaded by the river god swiftly, seeping into every single corner of her mind, clinging onto every spot within. She came to this place to forget about him, and she intended to succeed in doing so, even if every other pore of her body refused vehemently.

"Chi-hi-ro!"

Even if there was barely the slightest chance of her actually succeeding, even if she was afraid of forgetting, even if she might just fail at the end, she had to. She knew that she could not live the rest of her life, longing for a world that she could never return to, waiting for a person that she would probably never meet again.

* * *

_[Around 3 months ago]_

"Zeniba, why did you-"

The young dragon was rendered speechless as a huge entity emitted a fearsome murderous aura that wrapped around his entire body, threatening to suffocate him with it. It had been quite a while since he had been to Swamp Bottom, but he was fairly sure that the figure within the dark shadows happened to be No-face, and for some reason, he was not particularly happy at the intruder to the small, quaint cottage.

"And for a good reason too," the elderly female looked over at the river god, as though having read his mind, and merely nodded once to acknowledge his presence. Haku peered curiously into the witch's eyes, hoping to find the slightest hint that would assist him in figuring out the reason behind the sudden antagonistic nature of the usually calm No-face, but could only see irritation that was quickly rising behind the lenses of her glasses.

Zeniba, realising that the male was far too dense to figure out the things happening at the moment, frowned as she held back her emotions and sent a white envelope flying at a high speed towards him before turning back to her work. The neat handwriting that was on the surface of the item revealed that it was addressed to a certain river god, the sender being none other than the young human female ten years ago, a certain Ogino Chihiro.

_Haku:_

_I am glad that this letter has reached you. As you are reading this, I am probably already in America, furthering my studies, and will probably never return to this town ever again. Even if you probably no longer remember me, I still feel the need to leave a message behind, just in case it reaches you, so that I may feel less guilty about leaving you behind._

_We made a promise ten years ago, before I left your world. You may not remember, but to me, that promise was important to me. It is really quite laughable, really, that I took ten years to realise the harsh truth that awaited me the moment I left. _

_I foolishly returned to that tunnel day after day, hoping that it would one day connect and bring me back to your world. Every time I walk in, I have my hopes rise up, only to have it dashed in an instant as I find myself rejected by the entire world. I do not belong there with everyone. Not__ Rin, nor Zeniba, Kamajii, Boh, No-face or even Yubaba__. Not anyone else from the Spirit World. Not __**you**_.

_Ten years it took for me to realise this. Ten years it took me to accept this. Ten years it took me to finally wake up from my dreams. _

_Ten years that I wasted. _

_It may not seem like a long period of time to you. Ten years are just like a single day to you, because you live for such a long time. You don't die. I do. _

_I am writing this to thank you once again for saving me then, as you did before, and to wish that you will forget that the human, Ogino Chihiro, ever existed after you read finish this letter. It took me so much time to realise that I should move on…_

_**And I blame you for that. **_

_Ogino Chihiro_

"She left." These words left his lips in disbelief. A part of him felt hurt and betrayed. A larger part felt that it was for the better. A third part felt _guilt_.

"Did you expect her to stay on in a place where she could be reminded of her first love everywhere she went?" was the cold reply from Zeniba. "When you stole my golden seal, she was the one who saved you with that emotion, and for a young girl like her, that emotion was strong. Perhaps too strong for her."

The piece of paper fell onto the cold, hard floor as Haku struggled to accept this as the truth. There was no way that Chihiro could have written this. It was impossible.

"Did you really think that humans do not change even after ten full years?"

* * *

_Okay, so I kinda got bored with studying (yes I was, since I have no intention of flunking my exams AGAIN next year) and was reading Spirited Away fanfictions when I suddenly have this urge to write one. And so I did. But this was absolutely, utterly, completely on a whim, so don't expect updates that often. Unless of course, I have this absolute need/urge to write a chapter. I have no idea where I am going with this, just like my DGM fic until recently (Note: It may or may not be updated soon, since I have having one last week of mugging and homework as my school starts on the 7__th__). Or, it could also be deleted on a whim? (Hope not...__)_

_Cheerios, and reviews? :3 I like reviews, which may motivate me to __(__procrastinate more on my homework and studying __)__ finish up everything quickly to work on my chapters._

_p.s. The title came on a whim. No joke. (Haru Haru by Big Bang. Anyone here likes that song? -random-)_

_[28/3/2013] This chapter totally irritated me when I reread it. Spelling and grammar mistakes were freaking __**everywhere**__ (or maybe it was just my copy) and the flow really pissed me off, random fic or not. But anyway, me writing this means good news that this will not be trashed. Even if updates would probably take forever. Hope you have patience :3 Cheerios!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: A granted wish, a second meeting**

The door of the small cottage at Swamp Bottom literally flew open as the majestic dragon flew into the room in a hurry, reverting to his human form almost immediately as he had landed. The occupants of the house, however, seemed to be unsurprised at the sudden intrusion of the river god, with Zeniba reacting with a quick glance, and No-face nodding and greeting Haku in his own unique language.

"Zeniba, do you know anything about this?"

Slamming the crumpled, dirtied piece of paper onto the table on which the stout old lady was doing her work, the dragon stared intently at her, his whole body shaking in anticipation. Zeniba, as though she already knew why he was here for, gave a sad smile as she slowly shuffled her papers and set them aside.

"I was the one who sent it to you, how would I not know about it?" Ignoring the vast amount of questions that bombarded her upon this revelation, the witch reached out for a crystal ball that lay nearby and placed it right in front of her, an item that she had been using rather often ever since Chihiro left. Unbeknownst to the young brunette, her grandmother had always been keeping an eye on her, with the letter she had left behind on the heavy stone statue that stood guard in front of that gateway retrieved by none other than Zeniba, who had her own special connections to thank.

Placing a wrinkled hand over the ball, she infused her magic into it as she had done before, causing an image to appear within it, an image that caused the enraged dragon to cease all talk instantly.

"Chihiro..." he mumbled under his breath, his deep emerald eyes widened in surprise. She looked happy, laughing at the antics of her two best friends as those around stared at them awkwardly, not bothering about how others thought of her. It was as though she had forgotten all about their meeting, like what she had written in the letter addressed to him. Maybe he should just forget all about her... Like what she had done.

"Can't you tell?" Zeniba's voice brought him back from his thoughts, a frown warning of the anger within her that was on the verge of being unleashed on the clueless dragon. "She _can't _forget about you, even if she really wants to. A part of her may be trying to forget, but another part of her is waiting for _you_. For you to fulfill that promise of yours!"

"It's not like I can go in and out of this place like I want to," Haku muttered exasperatedly, running a lean, muscular hand through his green tinted hair. "What she chose to do is not without sense. Maybe it is for the best-"

All Haku could remember of what happened next was being stuck inside a slimy, wet area, unable to get out, as though he had been swallowed by someone...

"Chi-hi-ro!" A sharp jab to her side instantly jerked said girl out of her trance, pulling her back to reality as Anna pouted at the lack of attention that her friend was giving her. Laughing it off with the slightest trace of awkwardness in her smile, Chihiro could only sigh mentally, hiding her discomfort with her mind. It had already been three months. Three months, and yet she could still not get the incidents during that period of time out of her head, especially not a certain river god who seemed to be linked to practically everything surrounding her.

But the more important thing now was how to act as though nothing was troubling her. While she did trust her two best friends, the fact that Anna could not keep her mouth shut does not change. If the blonde learned of her secret, she would certainly let it slip sooner or later, accidental or not, and there would go her happy(?), peaceful life. She would have to return to the days where she was continuously warned that it was just her mind playing tricks on her, and the Spirit World belonged merely to her imagination, those hateful days where everyone who knew judged her for everything she did.

She had a hard enough time warding off kids, and now that she had grown up, being surrounded by the very group of people who had continuously tried to brainwash her that she was merely dreaming and knew of her 'dreams'... Chihiro was pretty sure she would not be able to withstand the pressure.

She nearly broke once. A second time was absolutely unnecessary.

"Chihiro?" The brunette looked up to see even the usually silent redhead speak, a worried look on her face.

"It's nothing, Tia. I'll tell you next time," she smiled reassuringly, she herself unsure whether the reassurance was directed towards her friend or herself. "I have to go now, I still have a mountain of undone homework." With that pathetic excuse, Chihiro waved a hasty goodbye and rushed off, leaving behind two very confused girls, one with a sneaking suspicion that the Japanese was keeping something very important from them, the other, fortunately or otherwise, completely clueless.

She knew what she was doing was nothing but running away from her problems, and a part of her that she chose to ignore knew that she could not run away from her own memories. They were a part of her, and had been so, ever since she set foot into the Spirit World.

The fact that her brain insists everything that surrounded her is linked to her trip there was proof enough of that.

_I got the feeling I kind of killed off Haku's personality, since he is definitely more of the reserved, mature, does what is best kind of guy, so I'm trying to make up for it, but this is not turning out as well as I hoped ._._

_And the chapter is really really short, I know, and I am really really sorry for raising your hopes, but I hit a dead end, so possible rewriting of this chapter? -hopeful smile- My brain is like a maze now, and I am hopelessly lost, so I need time to plan (Muahahahaha in school). _

_Then, there is still the problem of my -man fic._

_Not updating for a month or so, since I have massive planning to do. And rewriting. I apologise greatly for my incompetency. _

**boredstalkerdude – THANKS XD I believe once she finds out, I'm a dead squirrel x_x**


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